Brad Hornung says he was humbled and honoured when University of Regina president Vianne Timmons, and Stephen King, a senior researcher in the president’s office and a former classmate of his, visited him at the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre to tell him he was to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Although he has received many awards over the years, Hornung says he is always surprised to be recognized.
“There are a lot of people with spinal cord injuries who have accomplished more than I have; they inspire me,” he says. “We might not know their names but they are achieving things every day.”
Born and raised in Regina, and playing for his hometown Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League, Hornung was 18 when his dream of pursuing a professional hockey career came to an abrupt end. During a game in March 1987, Hornung suffered a severe spinal cord injury that left him a quadriplegic. He harboured no anger toward the player whose badly-timed body check ended his playing career, but faced his adversity in stride, graduating from Archbishop M. C. O’Neill High School and then continuing his education at the University of Regina. (King shared classroom notes with him.)
“Mom and dad instilled in me the importance of education,” Hornung explains, “and I was fortunate to be able to take two or three courses per semester at the University of Regina.”
Hornung received his Bachelor’s degree in History from Campion College at the University in 1996. He then took several classes through the Faculty of Business Administration.
Each year, the Western Hockey League awards the Brad Hornung Trophy to the player who best exemplifies talent, desire and sportsmanship – traits that Hornung always displayed.
He has remained connected to the game he loves, working for several years as a scout for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League. He currently works for the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau and, in this capacity, attends every Regina Pats home game, helping the NHL identify up-and-coming players. It is difficult to assess a player on their statistics alone, Hornung says, so he looks for both their quantitative and qualitative characteristics to include in his scouting reports. Hockey demands rapid-fire decision-making, he adds, so he looks for what he calls “hockey sense” and “intuition on the ice,” along with the personal mannerisms that exhibit a player’s leadership traits in game situations.
Illustrating that the hockey world is a small one, with innumerable interconnections, Hornung played hockey in the WHL against another University of Regina honorary degree recipient, Sheldon Kennedy. They were also teammates and roommates on Team West in an international under-17 tournament that featured teams representing five regions of Canada and national teams from other countries.
The Regina Pats have honoured Brad Hornung by retiring his number 8 jersey: it hangs in the Brandt Centre above where he stations himself to watch and analyze the games for his scouting reports. Each year, the Western Hockey League awards the Brad Hornung Trophy to the player who best exemplifies talent, desire and sportsmanship – traits that Hornung always displayed.
Hornung will receive his honorary degree on June 8.
Sheldon Kennedy
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A look back at the Cougars
The University of Regina women’s basketball program has been one of the best and most enduring programs in the country.
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Fellow honorary degree recipient Brad Hornung (front row, wearing "C") and Kennedy (immediately behind Hornung) were teammates and roommates on a mid-80s team. Photo courtesy of Brad Hornung.
To that end, in 1998, Kennedy roller-bladed across Canada, raising $1.2 million to support the violence, bullying and abuse prevention programming delivered by the Canadian Red Cross. He and business partner Wayne McNeil later founded the Calgary-based Respect Group, which delivers online training programs aimed at preventing bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination in sports, education and the workplace. Kennedy notes proudly that more than one million individuals – coaches, parents, teachers, administrators, managers and others – have completed one of the three programs, and are now Respect certified.
Graduating Cougars player, Charlotte Kot. (Photo by University of Regina Photography Department.)
There's a magic about this program - something that is difficult for alumni or coaches to put into words - but a wide variety of factors have come together to create a product that draws people to it, including recruits, top-level coaches and fans.
The Cougars celebrate another medal in a national championship, winning bronze at the 2018 USPORT tournament in Regina. (Photo by Arthur Ward)
Over the past 20 years, the Cougars have finished only one season without a winning record. This is a team that, since 1968, has played in the national university championship 19 times, advancing to the final championship game on six occasions. It is one of the best programs in Canada.
The success of the program can be attributed to a number of factors. Alumni and coaches have a slightly different view on what has advanced the program to the position sustained success it has seen. Perhaps it is the high calibre of local players developed through the Regina club and school programs. It could be the emphasis placed on recruiting. Or maybe it's simply the mindset of maintaining a high standard of excellence. Together, the elements have created a product that draws the support of the community and makes this one of the most respected programs in Canada.
Sue (McKenzie) Burns. (Photo by Trevor Hopkin)
The first year the team donned uniforms as the Cougettes was in 1968-69, playing for the University of Saskatchewan - Regina Campus under head coach Sheila Ward. Their green uniforms were made off-site, and the armholes were so small, the women couldn't raise their arms, says Irene Wallace, one of the original Cougette alumnus. "In the locker room after practice we ended up taking scissors and making larger arm holes so we could actually wear them."
Original Cougettes (left to right) Linda (Vail) Dodd BEd'74, Irene Wallace BEd'71, Ruby (Werhun) Patrick BEd'72 and and Laurie (Woods) Burgess BEd'70.
(Photo by Trevor Hopkin)
The developing history of Cougar women's basketball has continued to reflect the University, as it has grown from a completely local program to one that is recognized internationally.
Each head coach has continued to move the program forward. When Sue Higgs, a Department of Physical Education faculty member, began coaching the team in 1971, she began to revolutionize the team and women's sport.
"I think she was a little bit ahead of her time in terms of, let's take these young women and really maximize their physical potential, in addition to teaching us so many things we didn't know about the game," says Burns, who noted that they were always in the lab doing fitness testing as well as training off the court.
After Higgs' nine-year tenure, there were two losing seasons before Sheila (Brennan) Beckie was hired. A Regina product, she had played for the University of Saskatchewan, and brought with her enthusiasm for the program, as well as a real focus on recruiting local players.
"We were losing really good athletes out of the city," says Dick White CA'89, BEd'74, who worked for the University for 34 years, including 20 as athletic director. "One of her focuses was to keep the best Regina athletes here at the start."
Sue Higgs began coaching the team in 1971 and began to revolutionize the team and women's sport. (Photo courtesy of University of Regina Archives and Special Collections.)
During her first season, there was such a lack of returning players and few players previously recruited that Beckie would have to join the players in practice to have enough bodies. Then, she successfully recruited Jackie Moore BPAS'91 of Thom Collegiate. The Cougars continued to improve, winning the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) final and going to the national championship in the 1988-89 season.
The 2000-01 CIS championship women's CIS team. (Photo by University of Regina Photography Department)
As the Cougars became more successful, their fan base also grew. In 1999, the Cougars were playing the University of Manitoba in the best-of-three GPAC final. After the warmup, Stapleton and Taylor were walking toward the team room, about 40 feet down the hallway from the gym, and could hardly get through because the lineup to the gym was out the door. "Dave and I looked at each other, with big smiles on our faces, and were like, 'Can you believe this?' " says Stapleton.
Jeff Speedy, who was hired as the head coach in 2002 after Stapleton, says the city's passion for the program makes Regina one of the top places in the country to coach. "It's a special place to play, it's a special place to coach, and it's a very special program," he says.
Former Cougars player Cymone (Bouchard) Bernauer. (Photo by University of Regina Photography Department)
The next year, the team was creating new memories in a state-of-the-art facility after the Centre for Kinesiology Health and Sport opened. They needed to win the third game in the series to advance to the final four. The Cougars had graduated three players the previous year, one being Bernauer, who had been named the CIS Player of the Year. "We were trailing late in the game," says Speedy. "We were down six points with only five minutes left in the game, and I can still remember Jana (Schweitzer) Linner BAdmin'05, and Leah Anderson taking the game over. Basically, they were just saying, 'There's no way our careers are done today.' We won that game to even the series, and won the next day to go back to the final four."
The move to the new 2,400-seat gym meant a beautiful new team room, additional training facilities and, later, a jumbotron.
"It changed the atmosphere a little bit," says Maja Kralcacova BKin'09, who played for the Cougars from 2003 to 2009. "But it also gave the opportunity for a lot more people to watch us play."
Maja Kralcacova.
(Photo by Trevor Hopkin)
Kralcacova was one of the first international players to come to Regina. Originally from Prague in the Czech Republic, Kralcacova played her senior year of high school in Macklin, Saskatchewan, before Speedy recruited her to the Cougars.
"The team is now kind of reflecting where the U of R's going," says De Ciman. "Internationalization is growing, and you can almost say it's mirroring the University."
While the Regina community supports its local players, it also welcomes international players, making them feel like family.
"It was just incredible how people embraced me. … It was really nice, and that continued throughout all of my years," says Kralcacova, who stayed in Regina following her basketball career and recently became a Canadian citizen.
The warm welcome is because of avid fans like Gord Staseson, who Kralcacova now calls her "grandpa" for all he has done for her over the years.
"He took me under his wing, and started to help me fundraise money for Adopt-a-Cougar," says Kralcacova, who remains close friends with Staseson. "He actually raised money to bring my mom here for the (2009) CIS Championship, which was really touching, and I will never forget it."
Gord Staseson (Grandpa to former player Maja Kralcacova) hoods her at her 2009 convocation ceremony. (Photo courtesy of Maja Kralcacova)
Much of the recruiting to the Cougars, however, still remains within the city. Regina minor level and high school basketball teams continue to develop strong athletes who grow up wanting to play for the Cougars. Alumni give their time generously, coaching at various levels as they become role models in the community.
"I think we have always had the perfect storm," says Taylor. "We've been successful. Our players are great ambassadors out in the community. So there's that connection. … Local will always be the foundation of our program. The minute that changes, we're in trouble."
Thirteen years after joining the Cougar women's basketball team as an assistant coach, Taylor was made head coach in 2006.
"It's a village that builds this program," says Stapleton, noting the athletic directors, deans of Kinesiology and Health Studies, and University presidents who have supported the teams and shown up to games. "And it's a guy like Dave, who has arguably the longest tenure of anybody associated with the women's basketball program."
Taylor is quick to acknowledge the coaches that came before him as the team's builders, while he says he is committed to maintaining that excellence as guardian of the program.
For most of the past 25 years, the University of Regina women's basketball program has been in the capable hands of Dave Taylor or Christine Stapleton.
(Photo by Rae Graham)
"There have been all these moments and times where I thought there were tipping points that could have gone either way. Oftentimes, it has been having the right player with the right mindset," says Taylor, in looking back on the team's success over the years. "The players have had that competitive drive and ownership, and just pursuit of excellence where anything less is just not acceptable."
In 2013-14 and 2014-15, the Cougars had back-to-back seasons where injuries became a huge issue, leading to two seasons where the team didn't go to nationals. The summer of 2015, Charlotte Kot became the team's heartbeat, and her drive to succeed permeated the entire team. "Everybody had that attitude of, 'Okay, enough. We can't be 500. This is not acceptable,' " says Taylor. "And now, we're back on a three-year run of being in the Canada West finals."
While players like Kot will certainly never forget playing in a national championship, she says her most important memories of the weekend were not on the court. Instead, she will remember the alumni who returned for the weekend, including those such as Andrea (Gottselig) Ward and Amy (Mickleborough) Moroz, who co-chaired the 2018 championship committee.
"The thing I will remember the most about that nationals was all of the alumni," says Kot, who was awed by the packed gym watching the alumni game and the lunch with over 65 alumni present. "The people change, but they are always your family. … Once a Cougar, always a Cougar."
Crystal (Heisler) McGregor played with the Cougars from 1996-2002. Her death from cancer in 2014 brought players closer together than they had ever been.
Never was this more apparent than when Crystal (Heisler) McGregor was diagnosed with cancer in 2012. McGregor played for the Cougars from 1996 to 2002. The Cougar alumni - including both her teammates and those from teams before and after - came together to fundraise and help McGregor in her battle against cancer. When she died in 2014, they began the Crystal McGregor Memorial Scholarship in her memory.
"It drew us closer together than we've ever been, and that's the beauty of being part of a team," says Bernauer. "No matter what happens to somebody in that extended family, we all pull together, and we all show up for support."
"As tragic as it was to lose Crystal, you try to answer the question 'why?' We tried to take the love and the positive out of it," says Ward. "Crystal reconnected all alumni in a deeper and more meaningful level of team than ever before."